The Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has indicated that power has been restored to the Tain District Hospital by the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).
The facility was shut down in October by NEDCo over a GH¢6.4 million debt, but it was reconnected almost a week later after a series of engagements between the power distributor, the management of the hospital, and other key stakeholders.
Speaking in Parliament in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh said, “Lights have been restored. Power has been restored to the facility. So I communicated the same to the honorable minister to find out if that was the situation. The power was restored yesterday… But why would NEDCo, out of the ordinary, go out there to disconnect the facility? We need to get to the bottom of the issues to avoid the recurrence.”
He added, “I was alarmed when my colleague approached me about the happening at the time, at the hospital. We must get to the bottom of it, understand what caused it, and prevent its recurrence so that we don’t endanger the lives of our people any more. I am just trying to confirm it, but if it is what it is, it’s still not a justifiable reason.”
The Majority Chief Whip further expressed hope that the incident would not happen in any of the health facilities going forward.
“What is essential, in my estimation, is to ensure that we do not have a repeat of this, either in time or in any part of our country. A health facility suffering such a fate – we shouldn’t allow this to happen again, and it’s dependent on us to do it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tain, Adama Sulemana, said that the Tain District Hospital was disconnected again on Tuesday by the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) as a result of the debt.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament, the MP for the area urged Parliament to compel the government to bear the electricity cost for the effective running of the Tain District Hospital.